Working Paper: NBER ID: w30100
Authors: Natasha Burns; Kristina Minnick; Jeffry Netter; Laura Starks
Abstract: We employ a cross-country sample to examine whether cultural differences help explain gender compensation variations across corporate executives. The results show that the cultural differences, which are embedded in societies from long prior to the compensation decisions, provide significant explanatory power to the observed gender gap in executive compensation. Using an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition combined with variables that have previously been shown to be significant determinants of executive compensation, we find that adding cultural measures to the model increases the explanatory power from 44% to 95% of the gender compensation gap.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J71
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| cultural norms (Z13) | executive compensation outcomes (M12) |
| cultural attitudes (Z10) | gender pay gaps (J31) |
| paternity leave laws (J89) | gender pay gap (J31) |
| board diversity proposals (G34) | gender pay gap (J31) |
| cultural beliefs about women's education (I24) | gender pay gap (J31) |
| societal acceptance of violence and intolerance (P37) | gender pay gap (J31) |
| views on hard work and success (P12) | gender pay gap (J31) |